34 THE GREEN RISING 



ation caused great dissatisfaction, and, as most of the 

 landlords had moved away, no satisfactory under- 

 standing could be reached on the part of the tenant. 

 The peasants were in a state of misery, and, when 

 the nation rose in protest against the Crown, it was 

 easy to influence them to join the rebellion. 



The fall of the BastiUe, on July 14, 1789, and the 

 insurrection in Paris were followed by similar up- 

 risings in the rural districts. "In most provinces," 

 says Hayes, "the oppressed peasants formed bands 

 which stormed and burned the chateaux of the hated 

 nobles, taking particular pains to destroy feudal or 

 servile title-deeds. Monasteries were often ran- 

 sacked and pillaged. A few of the unlucky lords 

 were murdered, and many others were driven into 

 the towns or across the frontier." 17 



The first great act of the National Assembly, when 

 it convened in October, 1789, was to destroy feudal- 

 ism and abolish serfdom. The object of the decree 

 was to calm the peasant revolt in the provinces. 

 But it should be observed that "the peasants had 

 already taken forcible possession of nearly every- 

 thing which the decree had accorded them. In fact 

 the decree of the Assembly constituted merely a 

 legal and uniform recognition of accomplished 

 fact." 18 



"A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. I, 

 Chap. 14, p. 479. 

 "Hayes, Op. cit., Vol. I, Chap. 14, p. 481. 



